Near East Relief Committee records, 1904 -- 1950

This series contains correspondence, notes, articles, pamphlets, reports and source files related to the beginning of the organization and the specific needs and conditions of Armenia and Syria. The correspondence documents the experiences of those in war-torn areas and the need for aid. The bulk of William Walker Rockwell's extensive correspondence is from 1911-1917. The letters go into detail regarding conditions in Armenia, such as deportations and poor treatment of individuals. Correspondence is from individuals and locations throughout the world, such as Germany and Switzerland. Rockwell also wrote to Ambassadors Henry Morgenthau and Abram I. Elkus, US Ambassadors to Turkey. Many of the documents contain copies of other material not directly related to the ACASR, such as other committees with related goals. Rockwell's materials also include his own writings, such as for the pamphlet, The Pitiful Plight of the Assyrian Christians, 1916. The remainder of the series offers source files, also collected by Rockwell, on ACASR work and what other organizations, such as the Federal Council of Churches and the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, were doing to help.

Request Box 1

Box 1 Folder 1-3 Correspondence, 1915 -- 1950

Box 1 Folder 4 Correspondence: From Armenians, 1915 -- 1917

Box 1 Folder 5 Correspondence: Conditions in Armenia, 1915 -- 1916

Box 1 Folder 6-7 Correspondence, 1916 -- 1917

Box 1 Folder 8 Correspondence: Ambassadors Morgenthau and Elkus: US Ambassadors to Turkey, 1916 -- 1917

Box 1 Folder 9-10 Pitiful Plight of the Assyrian Christians by Rockwell, 1916

Box 1 Folder 11 Financials, 1916

Box 1 Folder 12-13 Copies, 1915

Box 1 Folder 14 Armenian Deportation, 1915; 1950

Box 1 Folder 15-16 Germans and Swiss, 1915 -- 1950

Request Box 2

Box 2 Correspondence, 1911 -- 1917

Request Box 3

Box 3 Folder 1 Germany and the Armenian Sufferers: Manuscript and Source Material, 1914 -- 1917

Box 3 Folder 2 Deportation of the Armenians: Correspondence, Manuscripts, Pamphlet, 1915 -- 1916

Box 3 Folder 3 Armenia Bibliography: Correspondence, Drafts, Notes, 1916

Box 3 Folder 4 Guides and Notes for Speakers and Auxiliary Organizations, 1916

Box 3 Folder 5 Rockwell Handwritten Notes and Pamphlets on Persia, 1916

Box 3 Folder 6 Financial Information on Relief Work in Persia, 1916

Box 3 Folder 7 Rockwell Plans and Outline for Publication on Armenia, 1915 -- 1916

Box 3 Folder 8 Rockwell Manuscript and Handwritten Notes on Turkey, Russia, Armenia and Ottoman Empire, 1916

Box 3 Folder 9-12 Rockwell Material: Bulletins, Cablegrams, Clippings, Correspondence, Minutes, Reports, Notes, President Wilson's Appeal, 1917 -- 1918

Request Box 4

Box 4 Folder 1 American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief (ACASR) Circulars, 1915 -- 1916

Box 4 Folder 2 Finances: Clippings, Correspondence, Notes, Treasurer's Reports, 1916

Box 4 Folder 3-14 Armenia and Syria Material with Rockwell Annotations, 1915 -- 1916

Request Box 5

Box 5 Folder 1-4 Publications and Clippings, 1910 -- 1918

Box 5 Folder 5 Booklets, 1915 -- 1917

Box 5 Folder 6 Pamphlets and Articles, 1915 -- 1916

Box 5 Folder 7 Denial of Actions by Turkey, 1915 -- 1916

Box 5 Folder 8-9 Eyewitness Reports, Notes and Clippings, 1915 -- 1916

Box 5 Folder 10-12 Statements from Eyewitnesses: Adana, Mersina and Marsovan, Turkey, 1915 -- 1916

Box 5 Folder 13 Muslim Sentiment and Missionary Safety, Clippings and Reports, 1915

Box 5 Folder 14 Persia Annotated Notes, 1915 -- 1916

Box 5 Folder 15 Persia Maps, 1915 -- 1916

Box 5 Folder 16 Persia Missions, 1915 -- 1916

Box 5 Folder 17 Persia: Armenian and Syrian Refugees, 1916

Box 5 Folder 18 Persia Sources, 1916

Box 5 Folder 19-20 Persia: Paul Shimmon Printed Material and Correspondence, 1916

Request Box 6

Box 6 Folder 1 American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions Material on Turkey: Annual Reports, Pamphlets, Quarterly News Bulletins, Turkey Bulletins, 1904 -- 1917

Box 6 Folder 2 Federal Council of Churches Material on Near East: Clippings, Correspondence, Resolution, 1918 -- 1922

Box 6 Folder 3 Clippings, Correspondence and Notes on Denials of Atrocities against Armenians, 1915 -- 1916

Box 6 Folder 4-13 Rockwell-Collected Source Files on World War One, 1914 -- 1917

Series 2: Near East Relief, 1914 -- 1936

This series contains records (largely collected by Talcott Williams) which show the expanded mission of the organization, including bulletins, cablegrams and other correspondence, newspaper clippings, press releases and fundraising materials, Executive Committee dockets, and minutes from other committees as well as reports on topics such as education in orphanages and religious education. Notable members of the organization, such as Cleveland Dodge and Charles Vernon Vickrey, Executive Secretary of Near East Relief, are represented, as is the plight of many displaced groups, such as Assyrians, Greeks and Armenians. These records show aid extended to Armenia, Syria, Persia, Beirut, Greece and other locations in Asia Minor. The series concludes with information from the Golden Rule Society, also collected and owned by Williams.

Collection Overview

Collection Contents

Series 1: American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief, 1904 -- 1950

Series 2: Near East Relief, 1914 -- 1936